Infinitive and gerund: common and distinctive features
Theoretical Grammar
1. Morphemic structure of a word
The morphological system of a l-ge reveals its properties through the morphemic structure of words. The wordis the largest unit of morphology. The morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit of morphology into which the word form may be devided. E.g. writers 1.expresses the basical meaning; 2.expresses the idea of agent performing the action; 3.s indicating number, showing that more than 1 person acts. Бархударов differentiates between a morpheme and a morph (the smallest meaningful succession of phonemes which can not be divided into any other meaningful units and which regularly occur in different utterances. The morph is the smallest meaningful unit in the state of complementary distribution. A morpheme is a set of morphs having the same meaning and being in the state of complementary distribution. These morphs are called allomorphs. Complementary distribution concerns different environments of formally different morphs which are united by the same meaning. It means that each morph never occur in the state of the other morph. E.g. –in,-im,-il-ir they have negative meaning. They are called allomorphs. E.g. clean, clearly, clarity, clarify; clear-morpheme, clear and clar-variants. E.g. boy-boys, look-looks, box-boxes, ox-oxen, foot-feet, man-men in the second column plural forms are represented by the morpheme of plurality. But phonetical representation of the first 3 allomorphs is different. This is phonemically conditioned allomorphs. [in]- morphologically conditioned one. In the 2 last examples the morpheme of plurality is represented by the change of the root vowel they are called replacive (allo)morphs. The idea of plurality can be represented by zero allomorph (fish-fish). Classifications of morphemes: I.they can be divided into derivational and inflexional. Derivational served to build words and alongside of the change of the lexical meaning they often indicate the change of part of speech. E.g. beauty-beautiful, act-acter. Inflexional morphemes change the grammatical meaning of word and used to indicate part of speech E.g write-writes. But sometimes inflexional morpheme acquires a new lexical meaning E.g. spectacle-spectacles. In modern English there is a case when a boundary line between derivational and inflexional morphemes is hard to find E.g. write-writing (письмо) (derivational); he is writing (inflexional). II. Bloch differentiates between 2 main types of inflexions: -uninterrupted, -interrupted. Suffixation, prefixation and morphemic alteration are called uninterrupted morphemes or synthetic. Synthetical inflexions can be outer, inner and suppletive ( I and me). Analytical inflexions are interrupted because they consist of a word which is devoid of any lexical meaning. They consist of an auxiliary word + a gram.suffix. E.g is invited. Modern Eng is considered to be analytical and its features are: -comparatively few gram inflexions, - the use of auxiliaries to form,- a small number of gram. Forms with sound alteration, - a wide use of prepositions to denote relations between objects. –fixed word order. III Gram inflexion can be divided into productive and unproductive. Productive: 1.Phonemically conditioned allomorphs of the morpheme of plurality (s,z,iz) 2.possessive case (s,z,iz) 3.phonemically conditioned allomorphs of the 3 person singular of the verb (s,z,iz) 4.phon.cond. allomorphs of regular verbs in past simple (d,t,id). 5.the allomorphs of the –ing morpheme which forms Participle I and gerund (asking). Unproductive 1.the archaic suffix –en (oxen) 2. suffixes in the words of Latin and Greek origin (data-datum) IV. According to the trad. Classif. Morphemes can be divided into: -roots (rats) express concrete ‘material’ part of the meaning. They are lexical morphemes. –affixes are not lexical ones.
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Morphemic structure of a word
The word is the largest unit of M. The morpheme is the smallest meaningful unit into which a word may be divided.
Notional words (verbs, nouns) posses some morphemic features expressing grammatical meanings. These features determine the grammatical form of the word. The grammatical form is not only confined to an individual word but unites a whole class of words.
Each word of the class expresses the corresponding grammatical meaning together with its individual lexical meaning (meaning of plurality, singularity, common and possessive case of past simple of the verb).
Grammar appears to be generalized in its categorical expression. The group of grammatical forms expressing a definite categorical function constitutes a paradigm (e.g. boys, cats, pens, sea-seas).
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As for the grammatical category – it is the group of self- exclusive form classes of items with the same function (e.g. the set of form classes including: gr. forms of singularity and plurality constitutes a grammatical category of number of the noun. Goose-geese, man-men, girl-girls).
The members of the gr. Category are represented by the gr. opposition. The main types of opposition are:
1) A private opposition – is formed by a pair of members one of which is marked the other unmarked.(e.g. the expression of the verbal present and past tenses is based on a privative opposition. The suffix –ed renders the meaning of the past tense, it marks the past form of the verb positively (we worked) and the present form negatively (we work).
2) A gradual – is formed by a group of members, which are distinguished not by the presence or absence of a feature, but by the degree of it.(The category of degrees of comparison of adjectives as represented by gradual opposition, e.g. great-greater-the greatest).
3) A equipollent – is formed by a contrastive pair or group in which the members are distinguished by different positive features e.g. to be – am, is , are.
The verb: voice and mood
The verb is a part of speech which has the lexical meaning of action or process which has such derivational morphemes as suffixes –ize(critisize) – ify(simplify) – en(strengthen); prefixes –miss(mislead) – under(underline), lexical gr. inflexions like up, in, down, out; grammatical inflexions –ed, -es, -ing . Verb has such grammatical categories as person, tense, aspect, voice which can be combined with nouns, adverbs, and pronouns. In the sentence finite form of the verb performs the function of predicate and verbals (non finite verbs) – gerund infinitive can perform different functions in the sentence.
The category of voice. There are 2 main definitions of category of voice:
1. V. expresses the relation between the subject and the action(Ivanova)
2. Voice expresses the relation between the subject to the object on the one hand and the process of the other hand (Bloch).
Traditionally 2 voicesare singled out active and passive.
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The passive formas the strong member of the opposition, shows that the person or thing denoted by the subject is active performed upon i.e. the subject is the recipient of the action.
The active voice shows that the person or thing, denoted by the subject is the doer of the action expressed by the predicate i.e. the action is performed by the subject.
The category of voice is connected with the category of transitivity, intransitivity. In English not only transitive but also intransitive can be used in the passive. E.g. to give characterized by transitivity (to give sth.), can be used as intransitive as well: the window gives on the street (faces the street).*The passive voice sometimes is considered to be derived from active voice.
e.g. Tom bits John. John was bitten by Tom. – are not synonymous. In the 1st sentence Tom is centre of the interest and in the 2 John is under the stress. So the subject is the person or thing which is needed to be emphasized.
Passive voice constitutes a single perfect predicate. That’s why it is necessary to distinguish between passive voice and a compound nominal predicate, which consists of to be + participle. The difference between them is made on the basis of the fact that passive voice renders action, and the compound nominal predicate renders state.*
The category of mood.
Mood expresses the relation of the action to reality stated by the speaker. One mood can represent action while another represents it as nearly conditional (desire)(Vynogradov).
Mood expresses different relations between the subject and the predicative (H.Sweet).
Mood expresses certain attitudes of the mind of the speaker towards the content of the sentence(Jasperson).
Mood expresses the character of connection between the process denoted by verb and the actual reality , either presenting the process as a fact that really happened or will happen, happens.(Bloch). *As Bloch states the category of mood is represented by the opposition of the forms of oblique moods and the forms of direct moods. The former making up the strong member the later the weak member of opposition. *
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Traditional gr. distinguishes between the indicative mood, which represents an action as real. The imperative and the conditional, which represents the action as not real. Indicative or direct mood expresses an action as real but it may not correspond to reality but it is used in the indicative mood. Imperative mood expresses the volition addressed to the listener. It has no subject as a rule, however when the n. or pronoun is used in emotional speech that the subject is possible. (e.g. Sit here but you sit here)
The most considered problem is the problem of oblique and conditional moods. Pr. Barkutarov points out the forms of should and would are not analytical because their 2nd component(infinitive) can be used in free combination. What concerns the form if I knew, if I have known he consider them to be the forms of past ind. And past perf.
Henry Sweet uses the term “Though forms” instead of oblique mood. He distinguishes:
1. The conditional mood(the combination of should and would + inf.)
2. The permissive mood(the combination of may + inf.)
3. The compulsive mood (the combination of finite form of to be + inf. – is to see, was to see.)
But H. Sweet couldn’t solve the problem of homonymous forms of subject mood on the one hand and past ind. And past perfect – on the other. He called them tense-moods.
Professor Sernytskij gives the following classification of moods:
1. Subjunctive1 (if he be, I suggest he go which doesn’t contradict reality – he demands that we be attentive )
2. Subjunctive2 which contradicts reality (if you had been there I should have seen you)
3. Suppositional mood denoting something necessary order, suggestion (I insist that he should consult a doctor)
4. Conditional mood functioning in the main clause of conditional sentences (what would you answer if you were asked)
Professor Illish combines 2 approaches to the category of mood :
1. based on meaning:
-expressing possibility(become, should come, may come – sub.1)
-unreal condition( came,had come, sub 2)
-consequences of unreal condition(should come – 1 pers, would come – 2, pers)
2. based on form
According to the means of expressing moods (both synthectical and analytical) he gets 5 moods:
1. come (with no adding in any person the auxiliary)
2. came, had come
3. should come
4. should come for the 1 person
5. would come for the 2,3 persons
Infinitive and gerund: common and distinctive features
Infinitive – is non-finite form of the verb, which has some properties of the noun, and some properties of the verb,serving as the verbal name of the process. It can be used in 3 positions:
1. as a notional part of the sentence (subject, object, attribute, adverb, modal )
2. as a semi notional constituent of the compound verbal predicate (may go- modal + inf, began to learn – compound verbal aspect )
3. as a constituent of the analytics form of the verb (shall go, will go – analytical forms)
The double nature of infinitive is expressed in its combinability. Like verbs Infinitive can combine with:
1. nouns expressing the object of the action(to read books)
2. nouns and pronouns denoting the due of the action (to go there expected him to bring the books)
3. adverbs (to read quickly)
4. with verbs forming a compound verbal predicate (can read, had to leave, happen to meet)
5. in the analytic form of the verb (auxiliary) (will read)
Like nouns it can combine:
1. finite notional verbs , when the infinitive is the object of the action (like to read)
2. finite not. verbs when the infinitive is the subject of the action(to land seemed impossible, to see is to believe)
The infinitive may form 3 predicative constructions:
1. objective with inf. Const.(complex object)
2. subjective with the infinitive(complex subject)
3. for-to-the-inf-const. ( for complex)
Complex object – consists of the noun in common case of the personal pronoun in the objective case + infinitive.(I heard the child play the piano)
Complex subject – consists of the noun in the common case of the personal pronoun in the nominative + infinitive (charly was heard to play the piano)
For complex – consists of the noun in the common case or the pronoun in the objective case preceded by the preposition for + ing. (It is necessary for him to do it)
The infinitive can be used in 2 presentational forms:
- with practical –to- (marked inf)
- without part –to- (unmarked bare, zero inf)
Like verbs the Infinitive has such gr. categories as aspect, correlation (perfective, non-perfective), and voice.
The category of aspect as expressed by the opposition of common and continuous aspects : to write as common, to been writing – continuous.
The category of voice is the oppositional active and passive: to write, to have written, to have been writing – active, passive – to be written, to have been written.
The category of correlation is the opposition of perfective and non- perfective forms. – to write – non-perfective, to have written – perfective.
Bare infinitive is used:
1. after modal verbs except ought, have to, to be to.
2. after verbs denoting sense prepositions (hear, see, notice, watch.)
3. after the verb may in the meaning force and let.
4. after some modal phrases ‘had better’, ‘would rather’
5. after why in interrogative sent (why not go there)
Gerund – is a non-finite form of the verb, which combines the properties of the verb with those of the noun. It is the verbal name of a process but unlike the infinitive and similar to the noun the gerund can be modified by the noun in the possessive pronouns and can be used with preposition.
Like the infinitive the gerund is categorically changeable , there are 2 grammatical categories of the gerund :
• The category of correlation (which is represented by the opposition of perfective and non-perfective forms). E.g. taking – non-perfective, having taken – perfective, being perfective –non-perfective, having been taken – perfective.
• The category of voice is represented by the opposition between active and passive. E.g taking, having taken – active, being taken, having been taken – passive.
Like verbs Gerund can combine:
1. with nouns expressing the object of the action (reading books)
2. with adverbs(reading loudly)
3. with certain semi functional verbs(seeing is believing)
Like nounsit can be combined:
1. with finite notional verbs with gerund as the object of the action(enjoy playing)
2. finite notional verbs when the gerund is the subject of the action (his returning so soon surprised his family)
3. nouns + preposition(a text for reading)
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